Emily Coddington Williams facts for kids

Emily Coddington Williams (born Emily Matilda Coddington, October 21, 1873 – August 8, 1952) was a smart American woman who studied the history of mathematics. She was also a talented writer, working as a translator, novelist, playwright, and even writing biographies of famous people.

Early Life and Learning

Emily Matilda Coddington was born in New York City on October 21, 1873. Her family was quite well-off. Her father, a lawyer, passed away when she was young in 1876. After that, she lived in Midtown Manhattan with her mother and grandmother.

In 1891, Emily passed the entrance exam for Harvard University. This allowed her to study at the Harvard Annex, which later became Radcliffe College. However, she chose to go to the University of London instead, studying there from 1894 to 1896. She earned her bachelor's degree from the University of London.

In 1898, Emily earned a master's degree in mathematics from Columbia University. She also studied mechanics and Greek. Her master's paper was about the history of determinants, which are special numbers used in mathematics.

She continued her studies at Columbia and earned her Ph.D. in 1905. Her Ph.D. paper was about the history of non-Euclidean geometry and the pseudosphere. This is a type of geometry that is different from the one we usually learn in school. She even translated a paper about hyperbolic geometry from Swedish into English.

Later, Emily decided to study law at New York University starting in 1909. She passed the bar exam in 1912, which meant she could practice law. She earned her law degree in 1913. Even though she didn't become a professional mathematician or lawyer, she remained a member of the American Mathematical Society for her whole life. She also attended big international meetings for mathematicians in 1908 and 1912.

Later Life and Creative Works

In 1917, Emily Coddington married a businessman named William Henry Williams. After they married, she started publishing her works under the name Emily Coddington Williams.

Emily was very active in different groups. She joined clubs focused on gardening and women's suffrage, which was the movement for women to gain the right to vote. She also traveled to Europe very often. She and her husband lived in New York City and spent their summers in Newport, Rhode Island. They did not have children of their own.

Emily Coddington Williams was a talented writer. She wrote two short plays: Then (published in 1914) and Pals (published in 1925). She also wrote two novels: Homing Pigeon (1927) and Quest for Love (1929). In 1941, she wrote a biography about William Coddington, who was a governor of Rhode Island a long time ago (from 1601 to 1678).

Her husband, William, passed away in 1943. In 1952, Emily set sail for Europe on a ship called the RMS Queen Mary. Sadly, she passed away in a hospital in Paris on August 8, 1952. She left a lot of her money to her godchildren and the different societies she belonged to.

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